CBDS occur in 7-20% of all patients undergoing a gallstone operation and may complicate the course of surgery. Although intraoperative x-ray investigation was routinely performed to diagnose CBDS in the pre-laparoscopic era, its use during the laparoscopic era has been debated. Consequently, other techniques for diagnosing CBDS have been introduced. For example, preoperative liver function test (LFT; s-bilirubin and s-ALP) results, if abnormal, might be diagnostic for CBDS. However, some patients might have normal LFT despite coexisting CBDS. Ultrasonography is the major diagnostic modality used to diagnose gallstones, but is less helpful for diagnosing CBDS. Computed tomography is rarely useful for diagnosing gallstones. Magnetic-resonance-cholangio-pancreatography (MRCP) has high specificity and sensitivity, with accuracy similar to that of ERCP (Endoscopic-Retrograde-Cholangio-Pancreatography), but its accuracy depends on the size and anatomical location of a gallstone. In addition, MRCP is not widely available, and unlike ERCP, does not allow the endoscopic extraction of stones. ERCP is the most common technique used for both the diagnosis and treatment of CBDS. It is, however, expensive, invasive, technically demanding and associated with small but significant morbidity.
In this article, 200 consecutive patients with symptomatic gallstones disease operated on by laparoscopic cholecystectomy were retrospectively included and followed up 2-24 months after surgery. Three simple and routinely performed diagnostic variables, i.e., clinical history of patient (history of jaundice, pancreatitis or cholangitits), abnormal LFT results and/or dilated common bile duct (either alone or in combination), for diagnosing/excluding CBDS were evaluated. The results were statistically analyzed by calculating the sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV) and positive predictive value (PPV) of each with special attention given to NPV, which is the proportion of patients with negative test results who are correctly diagnosed. Higher NPV indicates higher sensitivity for excluding CBDS.
Twenty five patients were found to have CBDS (12.5%). As a single diagnostic test, ultrasonography showed higher sensitivity, specificity, and negative/positive predictive values than both medical history and LFT. As a triple diagnostic modality, the combination of medical history, ultrasonographic findings, and LFT results was shown to be the best diagnostic modality to exclude CBDS (NPV of 97. 3 %).
The authors concluded that using a combination of three routinely used diagnostic components as a triple diagnostic modality can increase the diagnostic accuracy of CBDS. This test is recommended for excluding CBDS and to identify patients in need of other investigations, such as MRCP or ERCP. The availability and non-invasiveness of this triple diagnostic test are additional benefits.
Reference: Pourseidi B, Khorram-Manesh A. Triple non-invasive diagnostic test for exclusion of common bile ducts stones before laparoscopic cholecystectomy. World J Gastroenterol 2007; 13(43): 5745-5749 http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/13/5745.asp
Correspondence to: Amir Khorram-Manesh, MD, PhD£¬ Department of Surgery, Kungälvs and Sahlgrenska University Hospitals, S-442 83 KUNGÄLV, Sweden. amir.khorram-manesh@surgery.gu.se
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World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG), a leading international journal in gastroenterology and hepatology, has established a reputation for publishing first class research on esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer, viral hepatitis, colorectal cancer, and H pylori infection for providing a forum for both clinicians and scientists. WJG has been indexed and abstracted in Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch) and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Index Medicus, MEDLINE and PubMed, Chemical Abstracts, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Abstracts Journals, Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology and Hepatology, CAB Abstracts and Global Health. ISI JCR 2003-2000 IF: 3.318, 2.532, 1.445 and 0.993. WJG is a weekly journal published by The WJG Press. The publication dates are the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th day of every month. The WJG is supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30224801 and No. 30424812, and was founded with the name of China National Journal of New Gastroenterology on October 1, 1995, and renamed WJG on January 25, 1998.
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